Birding FAQ's

Frequently asked questions related to birds and
bird-watching.

Why aren't there any birds at my bird feeder anymore?

There are many possible reasons why birds may not be visiting
your feeder. Just as you may go out for a walk in the woods
one day and see nothing, there will also be days when you see few
birds in your yard. Although reasons may never be fully
known, some days birds may be less active due to the weather.
At other times, birds may simply be feeding in other areas.
Even birds that visit your feeder regularly may still be getting 80%
of their food from other natural sources. Birds have varied
habitats and many have tendencies to roam even when food is
plentiful in one area.

Another possible reason for a lack of birds is the presence of
some kind of disturbance that is scarring them away. A
Cooper's Hawk or other bird of prey may be around near your yard.
You may not have seen one, but hawks will often hide silently in a
tree, dart through your yard after a bird, and then leave (once
their cover is blown and the birds are aware of their presence).
However, the result may be that birds are hesitant to come out back
in the open for a considerable period of time. Repeat visits
by a Cooper's Hawk or other hawk may increase this hesitancy even
more. Cats, Squirrels, noisy neighbors, and other distractions
can also have an effect.

If birds aren't visiting, it may also be a good time to clean and
disinfect your feeder. Some birds seem to recognize when a
feeder is dirty and/or moldy (regardless, you should clean your
feeder regularly to prevent the spread of disease). See the
Backyard Birding pages for details about cleaning your feeder.

I found an injured bird. What should I do?

These recommended items will help you gain the knowledge you need
to find, identify, and learn about Illinois birds. A broad
collection of the items below will make these tasks much easier.

Birds are hitting my windows. What can I do to stop this?

These recommended items will help you gain the knowledge you need
to find, identify, and learn about Illinois birds. A broad
collection of the items below will make these tasks much easier.

How do birds migrate and know where to go and when to leave?

These recommended items will help you gain the knowledge you need
to find, identify, and learn about Illinois birds. A broad
collection of the items below will make these tasks much easier.

If I leave up my hummingbird feeder in the winter, will
the hummingbirds not migrate?

Almost all experts say NO. In fact, leaving your feeder up
- if anything - will likely help the birds. Birds have a
natural impulse to migrate south in the winter that isn't simply due
to lack of food. Birds that stay at your feeder late into the
fall are likely staying for other reasons, such as being sick.
Leaving up your feeder will help these birds survive longer into the
winter and/or store up enough energy to make their trip south.
Leaving up your feeder will also provide you with an opportunity to
see one of the rarer species of hummingbirds. In Illinois, any
hummingbird that is still present in November should be reported and
looked at very closely. Almost all Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
leave northern Illinois by late October or earlier. Rare
species, like Rufous Hummingbirds, often show up in November into
December.

Do hummingbirds migrate by riding on the backs of other birds?

NO. This is a myth. There are many small birds, some
even smaller than a hummingbird. The thought that these birds
can migrate great distances on their own is baffling to many people,
but it is true. However, many birds do die each year trying to
migrate across large oceans, lacking sufficient food, or colliding
with windows, towers, or buildings (to name a few examples).
Even many species of butterflies and other insects migrate.
Some of these species simply rise in the sky, catch a current, and
allow themselves to be blown in the wind over great distances.
Birders looking through spotting scopes during the spring and fall
for hawks and other birds will sometimes even see butterflies float
by (facing sideways or even backyards) riding with the wind.

This guide provides excellent descriptions and directions to more
than 250 excellent birding sites in NE Illinois as well as nearby
counties in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. Other highlights
include site productivity ranked by season, monthly birding
suggestions, and a brief guide to each bird species with overall
rarity and the best spots to view them. The guide also
includes excellent area maps and detailed maps of select birding
sites.

Birding Illinois:

By Sheryl DeVore

This guide provides excellent descriptions and directions to more
than 110 premier birding locations throughout Illinois. Other
highlights include a guide to 54 Illinois "Specialty Birds" and an
excellent checklist of almost all Illinois bird species with an
incomparable rarity "bar" that shows the bird's rarity/abundance by
month and even quarter months.

Put down your Peterson's, shelf your Golden Guide, store your
National Geo., file your Stokes, and stash your Kaufmen's. The
Sibley Guide to Birds is, by far, the most accurate and helpful
guide available to date. We all have our favorite "first" bird
guide, but if you cringe whenever anyone mentions "peeps",
"sparrows", "gulls", "immatures", or "confusing fall warblers" than
the Sibley Guide to Birds is a must-have. It may take some
time to get use to this new guide with "cartoonish, brightly colored
birds", but once you dive in you will quickly see how accurately
David Allen Sibley captures a bird's shape, coloring, and patterns.

2.
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America:

Written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley

One of the newer additions to the Sibley series, this is an
excellent companion (or replacement) guide to the above title.
This new guide comes in a much more compact form that can be easily
carried in the field and covers only the birds that are seen in
Eastern North America (but still as far west as the Dakotas and
parts of Texas). Lacks a few of the uncommon plumage patterns
that are illustrated in the full North America version. The
smaller pictures also have slightly less detail. Improved,
detailed maps.

3.
Birds of Illinois:

Sheryl DeVore, Steven D. Bailey,
Gregory Kennedy

A long-overdue field guide of "319 species of birds" found in
Illinois. This is a great companion guide to the ones above,
and is highly recommended for beginning birders who may find it
difficult to sift through the many birds illustrated in Sibleys.
Includes maps of bird ranges in Illinois and extensive text
regarding ID, habits, and status in Illinois. Quality
illustrations, but not as accurate as Sibley's. Lacks
illustrations of many female, immature, and non-breeding plumages.

4.
Stokes Field Guide to Birds - Eastern Region:

Donald &
Lillian Stokes

This photographic guide contains about 400 species found in the
eastern half of the U.S. It is a valuable additional resource,
but is not recommended as a primary bird guide. Sometimes
photographic guides will provide insight into details of a bird that
are not apparent in most illustrations, but many similar looking
birds may be difficult to identify. Some photos also subdue or
wash out important features / colors on some birds. Lacks
photos of many female, immature and non-breeding plumages.
Maps are rather small and simplistic. Short descriptive text.

5. Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America:

Kenn
Kaufman

This pseudo-photographic guide combines photographs with modern
technology to produce enhanced images that accurately depict colors
and ensure that important field marks are well shown. Fairly
inclusive of female and immature plumages. Moderately detailed
maps. A decent primary guide, but not to par with the Sibley
guides.

A detailed map book with about 95 sectioned maps showing almost all
county and state roads, even including many minor gravel roads.
Excellent for long-distance trips and for chasing after reported
rarities in rural Illinois areas. Large format, thin, paged
book.

2.
Rand McNally [200X] Road Atlas:

An excellent US travel map including multiple maps of the Chicago
area and major Illinois cities. Also includes mile marker and
distance information not covered in the DeLorme Illinois Atlas.
Large format, thin, paged book.

3.
Rand McNally Street Guide [200X]: Chicago 7-County:

A very detailed map book
showing ALL streets and roads in the seven county area around
Chicago. Also available in smaller single or two county
formats. An invaluable resource for local birders and birders
participating in Chicago area Spring Bird Counts and Christmas Bird
Counts. Standard format, thick, easy to use Spiral Bound book.

A well-known optics distributor based out of Madison, Wisconsin.
Highly recommended and well-respected among the birding community.
Visit Eagle Optics through the
IOS website
and 5% of your purchase will go to the Illinois Ornithological
Society.

If you have suggestions
for other resources that should be included, please Contact Us.